One Year of Analysis of PFAS Contamination in Surface Waters of the West Plains Region of Spokane County
Faculty Mentor
Chad Pritchard
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
May 2025
End Date
May 2025
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Geosciences
Abstract
The West Plains Region of Spokane County has been significantly impacted by PFAS contamination due to the decades-long use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) in firefighting training at both Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB) and the Spokane International Airport (SIA). It was known that groundwater in the area was significantly contaminated, but less testing had been done on West Plains surface waters until this past year. This study analyzes PFAS contamination in those water bodies, looking at multiple lakes, springs, creeks, and the Spokane River to help understand the sources and pathways of PFAS, as many of these water bodies serve as the “sinks” or “drains” for the contamination. We now have one year of data in which most locations have been sampled seasonally to analyze how PFAS concentrations change throughout the year. Though FAFB and SIA are likely the sources of much of the PFAS contamination we find in surface waters, PFAS are ubiquitous in many consumer and industrial products and this study also looks at other potential sources including fire stations, wastewater treatment plants, septic tanks, and farmland runoff. This study is part of the larger West Plains PFAS Fate and Transport Study, which is currently being conducted at Eastern Washington University to gain a comprehensive understanding of PFAS sources and to determine their pathways and distribution throughout water on the West Plains.
Recommended Citation
Hampson, Jerusha R., "One Year of Analysis of PFAS Contamination in Surface Waters of the West Plains Region of Spokane County" (2025). 2025 Symposium. 11.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2025/ps_2025/p2_2025/11
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
One Year of Analysis of PFAS Contamination in Surface Waters of the West Plains Region of Spokane County
PUB NCR
The West Plains Region of Spokane County has been significantly impacted by PFAS contamination due to the decades-long use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) in firefighting training at both Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB) and the Spokane International Airport (SIA). It was known that groundwater in the area was significantly contaminated, but less testing had been done on West Plains surface waters until this past year. This study analyzes PFAS contamination in those water bodies, looking at multiple lakes, springs, creeks, and the Spokane River to help understand the sources and pathways of PFAS, as many of these water bodies serve as the “sinks” or “drains” for the contamination. We now have one year of data in which most locations have been sampled seasonally to analyze how PFAS concentrations change throughout the year. Though FAFB and SIA are likely the sources of much of the PFAS contamination we find in surface waters, PFAS are ubiquitous in many consumer and industrial products and this study also looks at other potential sources including fire stations, wastewater treatment plants, septic tanks, and farmland runoff. This study is part of the larger West Plains PFAS Fate and Transport Study, which is currently being conducted at Eastern Washington University to gain a comprehensive understanding of PFAS sources and to determine their pathways and distribution throughout water on the West Plains.
